Do our preferences, like favorite color, serve as indicators of who we are?

We all have individual preferences. Some of us like the color blue while others prefer a shade of grey. Do these preferences serve as indicators of who we are?

I think it’s interesting to think about.

Who are we?

Well we can think of ourselves as a box or [ } at birth.

[] We are given a name.

[ Jake ]

Then we are inscribed with data to build our personality.

[Jake - Experiences: Year1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5]

At age 5 [Jake-5] has experienced many things. However, at this point [Jake-5] hasn't constructed the necessary filters to understand complex information.

As [Jake-5] gets older he includes more information and builds stronger neural pathways. These pathways are generated by electrical impulses continuously storing information and associating existing information with new data.

[Jake-35]

At this point [Jake-35] has a favorite color value of "RED".

If [Jake-5] is constructed from [Jake-1] + [Jake-2] + [Jake-3] + [Jake-4]....then it isn't [Jake-5] as [Jake-5] doesn't account for the other years of life.

Jake 19 as I remember it was an arrogant...know it all. I didn't really have a favorite color. I didn't care about colors much.

Does that say something about [Jake-19]?

What does "I have no favorite color" transfer to?

Well if [Jake - 19] was arrogant and thought he knew everything...he may not have really focused enough on things like color, nature, or art to appreciate their place. Therefore, [Jake -19] could be identified, very loosely, by his color choice...or lack thereof.

Putting your life on a data string will allow you to dissect portions and associate them appropriately. Can we tell...from these data strings...that present "preferences" can, loosely, serve as indicators of character or personality traits.

Oct 22 2012:
Some preferences will likely say a great deal about you and others little. People who prefer to be around lots of people (extroverts) are different from people who are happiest alone and in personal reflection (introverts).

People who prefer to be, or insist on being, only with people who look like they do and share all their beliefs- that says something about them.

Having an aversion to thousands of different foods might signify an eccentric level of pickiness or inflexibility.

Loving or hating horror movies or romance novels may suggest attributes of personality.

Oct 29 2012:
Eldon Taylor I think would disagree, I think.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc43DdhuhME starts talking about a "color belief" at about the 6-minute mark.
I think [Jake-5] would account for the other years of life; unless it were written into a sci-fi book, where "5" would not be assumed to be his age, but may be "[Jake#5]". But we don't go out on the street and meet a 5-y-o & then ask them if those were five consecutive years of combined knowledge & experiences.
Even the years demarked [1], [2], [3] were not equal years of any kind or type of measurement.

"I have no favorite color" may translate to "my eyes don't have as many cones as most others," or "I'm worrying about grades and girlfriends more than colors," or "colors are for girls and fashion-shows." But I think if someone were to give [Jake-19] a well-designed test, would ferret-out a subconscious favorite.

"Putting your life on a data string..." makes me start to question, "Where does '0' start," or "Are you measuring speed when you should be measuring weight," and "Aren't our measurements telling us more about those who measure, than it does those who are measured?

Oct 24 2012:
Reflex action requires no thought so I cannot learn much about you from the fact that you hold your breath when you are under water. Telling me which color is your favorite allows me to classify you according to the other people I have known who claimed the same favorite color. My perception of you is formed from examples indicating how you think. My perception may or may not be consistent with reality/truth because people lie. The process of thinking is actually comparing the known (memory) with the unknown (unclassified experience). Personality is a function of memory. In my world people who say [insert color name here] is their favorite color are [insert description of personality here]. It is all subjective, tentative, arbitrary, unscientific, and unreliable. You think; therefore you are.

I have always been partial to redheaded women; the slightest glance will turn my head every time. My wife is not a redhead. I have no idea how this preference formed, It seems to me that this must have some larger meaning with respect to my personality, but I do not know what it is.

Generally I think our preferences regarding people are probably the most significant.

Another significant preference is where you want to live. I always knew I would prefer country living, and I was right. I find this surprising because I had only a vague idea of the realities of country living. There are many negatives. This is actually a common experience; many people here came from the cities because they 'always knew' they would prefer country living. Some people who are born in the country prefer living in the city. We seem to know this before we have any real information about the alternatives, so it must come from our basic personality.

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